Viola Steele
Viola Steele is the central protagonist. She is a revolutionary, and the leader of a resistance cell that eventually grows into a movement against the Realm of Esperanza, her sworn enemy. She is one of the first characters to be introduced. Her character color is pink. Though she has many occupations - coordinator, strategist, politician, and formerly a musician - she is a leader and commander first and foremost, though her legitimacy and capability as a leader fluctuates depending on the situation. Etymology "Viola" is by and large derived from the instrument viola, alluding to Viola's musical characterization and how it affects her thinking patterns (often, musical terminology is used hand-in-hand with strategical terminology for her). There are also some similarities between her and Viola from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night: in addition to Viola Steele's tendency to adopt deceptive nicknames and alter egos much like how the Shakespearean Viola did (along with the existence of an island in Grace called Messaline, where Viola frequently escapes or retreats to), along with their shared affinity and skill for music, it's likely no coincidence that the deuteragonist, Caesar, sounds quite similar to Cesario, and Viola Steele's father shares a name with the pirate Antonio from Twelfth Night. Viola's screen-name, heartsease, is an accepted nickname for the viola tricolor, a European flower. "Steele" itself is quite obviously derived from steel, more so the figurative implications of the word. Steel, as a noun, is often used as an embodiment of strength and willpower (nerves of steel), highlighting Viola's determination and dedication to her goals. Steel, as a verb, is "to mentally prepare oneself to do or face something difficult", as in steeling yourself, also highlighting how often Viola makes difficult decisions and has to prepare herself to face the music. One of her many aliases, Damascus, is a reference to Damascus steel, and Damascus itself is the capital city of Syria, a Western Asian country stuck in an ongoing civil war that forced a great deal of its citizenry to flee from the country. Viola herself is a Coralman refugee, and Coralma is Grace's continental equivalent to the real-world Asia. Viola's many aliases and pseudonyms have some meanings attached to them, as well. Stradivarius is a term for any number of violas, violins, or other stringed instruments made by the Stradivari family (Antonio Stradivari himself is the likely source of inspiration for the name of Viola's father). Rosin is a form of resin that is applied on bow hairs to improve the clearness and tonality of a bowed string instrument (like a viola) when played. Emilia Émigré, in addition to being alliterative, is derived from both Viola's mother and the term émigré: a person that has left their own country to settle in another. Trivia * Viola often drinks soda or soda pop, both as a stress reliever and a way to stay awake. * The name for Viola's mother, Emilia, is derived from Emilia Plater, a Polish noblewoman and revolutionary with whom Viola shares numerous traits. * She is a Libra, no doubt attributed for "Liberation" or "Liberacion". In the zodiac circle, Viola's sign, Libra, directly opposes Aralita's sign, Aries. The Venus symbol (Libra) is the same biology symbol for the female sex. The opposite of that? The male sex, which is represented by the symbol of Mars (Aries). Opposing symbols dominate Viola and Aralita's dynamic. * She owns a long-barreled pistol named Rosewood, and handguns are her preferred type of weaponry, finding rifles too heavy and swords too "technical". * Viola is likely bisexual / pansexual. * Viola's favorite color, pink, is actually attributed to the amount of Sakura-esque flowers that commonly bloomed in SB's Asia-analogue: Coralma, where Viola was born. Another color vaguely associated with Viola is violet, due to her name; the only other person that has this color attributed to them is Faust, with his purple-inspired color palette. * Viola often wears neckerchiefs, which are noticeably different compared to the jabots and cravats the nobility wear. She also wears scarves here and there, much like Salia. * Viola is by and large a vegetarian, but will eat meat if it becomes a necessity (practicality over taste). She vastly prefers chicken and fish (pesco pollo) over red meat, finding red meat disgusting. Regardless, she hopes that one day she won't ever have to eat meat as a necessity.